infinity
by abbyli
Summary: Maya Hart retired from figure skating when her mom died suddenly. She's back two years later to help coach Lucas Friar and maybe reignite her passion, on the ice and off. [ figure skating au ]
1. Chapter 1

Growing up, Maya always knew two things.

Skating and dancing.

Oh she loved skating. When she was two years old, she watched it on television and nearly had a canary at the beautiful jumps and spins. Her mom later told her that she used to jump up and down in front of the television and shout 'I wanna do dat!'

Her mom made her wait until she was five and a little bit sturdier in the walking department before she took her to her first skating lesson. There she met Riley Matthews, another young skater who would become her best friend. Riley had a boy who kept sticking to her like glue. A nerdy boy with glasses named Farkle Minkus. Maya remembers teasing him about his name as she skated alongside him, waggling her arms back and forth as she passed him.

Then she fell right on her rump.

Farkle held out a hand and pulled her to her feet. Maya remembers being so stunned by his sudden kindness and she never teased him again.

The three of them became inseparable. Their teacher liked what she saw with Riley and Farkle and paired them together.

Maya continued on alone. Dance classes took up the other half of her time and her school work was average at best. Her mom had made a deal with her, maintain a B average or her lessons would be taken away. Maya could deal with that.

The years that followed were some of the busiest but the best years of her life. Her dance instructor informed Maya that she could probably have a career in choreography.

That flipped a switch in Maya's head. From then on she found herself studying Riley and Farkle's skating, telling them ways that they could make their moves better until Riley got so annoyed that she threw her out and wouldn't let her train with them anymore. Not that Maya could blame her too much, she did get irritating as shit there.

Things are...good. They are really good.

When she turns seventeen, Maya takes her senior test and passes with flying colors. She's ready to head to her first Grand Prix event with Riley and Farkle and to have the best time.

Then her mother dies.

Life stops.

She withdraws from the event and watches them from the sidelines as Riley and Farkle grab their first pair skating medal, placing second in the finals and earning an assignment to go to the Cup of China and to the Four Continents Competition.

She's asked if she will return to complete her own Cup of China assignment, a word slips out from her lips that Maya never thought she would say.

"No."

-;

"Miss Maya?"

Maya's eyes dart down to the small child beside her. "Yeah Kait?"

The little girl blinks owlish blue eyes her way and Maya is pretty sure she is going to melt. "Can you help me again with that one step? I cannot get it."

"Of course."

As she eases the little girl over to the barre by the mirror, she sees a person standing in the doorway.

Riley.

She hadn't seen Riley in person in at least eighteen months, what was she doing here?

Riley gives her a tiny wave. Maya returns it half heartedly, returning to her students for the remainder of the class while pretending her old friend is not standing there. Once the first mother shows up to collect her child, she busies herself with cleaning up the room and throwing sweaty towels into the hamper by the window, still pretending Riley is not standing there.

"So this is your life now, huh?"

With a heavy sigh, Maya looks up towards the brunette. Riley is crossing the hard wood floor, her boots clanking on the boards as she glances at herself in the floor to the ceiling mirror.

"Yep," Maya answers dryly.

"I talked to someone downstairs, a, uh Grace?" Riley asks. "She was your teacher when we were kids, right?" Maya nods. "She said that you are the best teacher here. That all the kids love you."

Maya settles back in the lone chair in the corner of the room, folding her arms in front of her chest. "What's up, Riley?"

"Am I that obvious?"

Chuckling, she nods. "Yep."

Riley takes a perch by the window but moves almost instantly, her nose wrinkling at the smell of the sweaty towels in the hamper. "I may need your help. Uh, a few of us need your help."

"With what?"

"Uh, there's another skater beginning his training at my dad's rink and he's really struggling with his choreography. His coach can't find the right one to work with him, he's kind of chased away each one. And Farkle and me -"

"You and Farkle? I just watched you guys at the Cup! You came in third!"

"But ever since we made the change over to ice dance, we've been struggling too. We've got Skate Canada coming up. Please, Maya, we could really use your help."

"What makes you think that I can help you? I don't skate anymore, Riles."

"But you do this," Riley waves a slender hand. "Your boss says you are one of the best dancers they have seen and -"

"And I don't do that anymore," Maya reminds her gently. "It's been three years. I doubt I can do much."

"But you can try," Riley says, her voice dropping just a bit. "Please, Maya."

Maya sighs again. Damn, she's been doing that a lot lately. "What do you need help with?"

A moment passes before her words settle in and Riley's pretty face lights up with joy. Crossing the dance floor, she pulls Maya into her arms in a tight hug that Maya clumsily returns. "Thank you," she breathes before releasing her.

"You're welcome."

-;

Three years had passed since her mother's death and eighteen months had gone by without Maya taking a step onto the ice. She wondered if she could even stand up straight on the ice without falling on her ass.

Since walking away, she had gone to work full time at the dance school that had become her home. Her teacher Grace had given her a place to stay until she could get her own apartment and helped her finish her high school diploma. Maya was taking night classes at the moment to get the credits but her whole life was the dance studio.

Isn't that sad?

An old ache had flared up when she saw Riley again. Her heart had split when she walked away from her old life, Riley included, but the pain was too much.

Too much.

Riley's parents were former Olympians. Her mother Topanga was a downhill skier, having grabbed three medals in three events in the 2003 Olympics. Her father Cory was a retired hockey champion, having led his team to the silver medal in the previous Olympics and had just missed the silver at the championships the following month.

Farkle wasn't the child of athletes, he was the child of money. Maya honestly believed that ice skating was something his mother Jennifer had wanted him to try and the only reason he had stayed was because of Riley.

Maya arrives at the skating club the following day. The rink is just like she remembered it, big and almost homey. Yeah that sounds stupid but it's the truth. She spent twelve years of her life here, so sue her. Riley and Farkle are just the way she remembers them. They flow like water as they move together on the ice but once that stops, neither one of them shut the hell up.

It's perfect and oh god it hurts to watch.

As Maya laces up a pair of rental skates, she's taking in several deep breaths. She can do this. Just pretend this is the dance studio. No ice around, she's not wearing a pair of boots with blades attached. She can do this.

One wobbly step onto the ice and of course it all comes rushing back. Riley and Farkle stop in their warm up, both watching her warily like she's a timebomb about to explode.

"I'm fine, guys," she says. "Show me what you're struggling with."

Twin looks of relief cross their faces. Farkle takes Riley's hand, leading her out onto the center of the ice. They begin their backward strokes, blades slashing the cleaned ice evenly before Riley begins to lose footing. Farkle follows and the lead into the lift quickly ends, Farkle grabbing Riley before she stumbles to the ice.

Maya skates out to the center of the ice to join them, her ankles wobbling just slightly. She takes another breath before replacing Riley at Farkle's side. "Okay so here's the issue. Follow my feet."

She pushes off on her toepick, taking the steps very slowly. More for her benefit than for theirs, she's still pretty rusty at this.

Farkle eases back, allowing her to work the step sequence for a second before taking her hand and completing the last steps with her. "Is that it?" he asks once they hit the last beat. "That seems so simple."

"It is," Maya says. "Sort of. You are losing the flow of the movements when you get a few seconds into it. Riley, what I think it is is that you are looking at your feet. Don't do that. Keep your eyes trained ahead because if you keep looking at your feet then your concentration will be on the steps alone and not how to ease into your spin."

"So we're keeping it as two separate movements, instead of trying to pull them together?" Riley asks.

"Exactly."

Maya takes a seat as the two of them attempt the steps again. This time they complete the sequence and go into the spin. They continue to work for the next thirty minutes, Maya throwing in her two cents here and there. Another step sequence didn't flow with a lift. To go straight into a dangerous lift after a spin was dumb, there was no time to recover. She goes back to being her bossy self as she shouts herself hoarse to be heard over the irritating music that plays over the loudspeakers and the new skaters that have joined them on the ice.

Sweat's pouring off of the two of them when they call for a break and slump into seats beside Maya in the stands.

"Say, who is this other guy you were telling me about?" Maya wonders, passing them their water.

Farkle looks at his phone. "He should be here in about ten minutes. His name is Lucas Friar and his grandfather just hired on Shawn Hunter as his coach."

"Shawn Hunter?" Maya repeats, staring at them open mouthed. "The Shawn Hunter? The one who won the silver medal at the 2003 Olympics after narrowly beating out his brother Jack for the spot on the team? That Shawn Hunter?"

"Yep, that Shawn Hunter," comes another voice.

Maya nearly throws her own water in the air, whirling around to see a very familiar man standing on the side of the boards. Holy shit, it's -

"Maya, this is Shawn," Riley introduces. "He's a friend of my dad's. They roomed together at the Olympics in '03. Shawn, this is Maya Hart. She's helping us with our short dance while Harper's away."

Okay, so she's ready to become a blathering idiot as the other man shakes her hand. "Huh-hi -"

Farkle begins to laugh. "He doesn't bite, Maya."

Shawn laughs too. "It's nice to meet you, Maya."

"Y-you too." Oh god she is such a moron.

Riley nudges her arm, smiling. "Maya said she'd take a look at what Lucas has got for his Skate Canada appearance."

"I did?"

"She did?"

"Yes she did. Maya used to skate before she went into dancing full time. She's been doing some great stuff for us," Riley brags.

"Oh really?" Shawn surveys the red faced Maya with raised eyebrows. "Did Riley drag you here unwillingly?"

With a smirk, Maya nods. "Yep."

"Maya!"

Shawn just laughs.

The mysterious Lucas arrives there not long after. And what Maya is expecting is not what Maya gets.

The boy is about two inches shorter than Farkle, with messy dark blond hair and blue eyes. Shoulders that belong on a linebacker and legs that reach his neck.

Wowza.

When he opens his mouth, Maya is not expecting a southern drawl to tumble over his lips.

She stifles a giggle while shaking his hand. "Howya doin'?"

Lucas's eyes narrow. "Gonna make fun of my accent?"

"I've never heard of a figure skater from the South so yeah, I am."

Maya half expects Lucas to snap at her but to her surprise, he grins.

She likes this guy. He skates well despite the horrid lack of artistry. He's smiley, polite, makes jokes with Farkle, listens intently to the advice that Shawn gives him, and calls Riley 'ma'am', much to Riley's chargin.

When Lucas falls for the third time out of a jump that should be really simple, Maya's mouth flies open and words tumble out before she can control them.

"The way you are easing into the jump - your right knee is buckling. If you changed it from a double-double combination and made the jump itself a triple, maybe you wouldn't lose your balance as you go into it."

Riley's smiling triumphantly and Lucas and Shawn are staring at her like she had just grown another head. Shawn turns back to Lucas and nods. "Go ahead, Lucas."

Returning the nod, Lucas retakes his position at the side of the rink, pushing off on his toepick and easing backwards. He picks up speed as he moves and suddenly he's up, turning one, two, three, another half rotation and he lands the triple cleanly.

"That jump is worth an extra point over the double combo," Shawn says. "We can replace the double somewhere else."

"Maybe at the end?" Maya offers. "You've got a camel spin there that could be accentuated by the jump first." Riley's smirking but Maya ignores her.

Shawn walks slowly to where Maya is sitting, leaning against the rail. "What else do you suggest?"

"You mean that?" Maya asks, her ears flushing red.

"Yeah, I do."

-;

Lucas catches her on the way out to the parking lot.

Maya stops, her hand on her car door as the long legged blond jogs across the icy crosswalk. "Hey Huckleberry."

He skids to a stop, raising a brow before grinning. "I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

Lucas shuffled on his sneaker clad feet, bowing his head. "For everything you did in there."

Maya smiles. "Not a problem. I enjoyed it."

"Will you come back?" Lucas asks. "Riley doesn't shut up about you and -"

"I don't know, Huckleberry. Do you want me to come back?" Maya hates that she finds Lucas's bashful grin adorable but she will die before she admits that to anyone.

"Yeah. Yeah I would."

-;

In the weeks that follow in preparation for the Skate Canada appearance, Maya's ready to tear her hair out.

She's never 'officially' hired on as Lucas's choreographer but after the first week, a check for seven hundred dollars shows up in her mailbox, signed by Joe Friar.

"I could get used to this," she mutters, stuffing the check into her wallet to deposit when she got the chance.

Lucas's artistry has improved greatly in the last weeks. He lands that jump with ease now and Maya was already thinking about music for his short program. A few days before Shawn had to register the skaters for the 4C, Maya was scanning through her playlist on her phone, landing on one song that surprised even her.

"Newsies?!" Lucas barked, staring at her in surprise as she played the song. "You've got to be joking."

"Never been more serious, Huckleberry," Maya says. "Give it a shot."

Lucas takes to the ice again and slides into some easy compulsary figures, finding the beat of the music. Shawn and Maya watch as he moves backwards along the ice, picking up and off into a single axel and landing it smoothly.

"I think we found his short program."

Designing the short was harder than Maya thought possible though. This program was what was supposed to get Lucas his standing in the competition and she sweated over it as much as he did.

While designing this program and beginning the pieces for his free skate, Maya returned to the dance studio.

Her seven year old student, Kait found her in the studio early one morning before her class was supposed to start, nearly startling her out of her wits when she glimpsed the small girl in the mirror.

"Kait!" she gasps, slapping a hand on her chest. "You're early!"

"My mommy had to go to work early," Kait says. "So she dropped me off when Grace said you were here."

Maya raises a brow but doesn't say anything to that. "Do you want to warm up a bit with me?"

Kait nods excitedly and goes to unzip her coat. As she works with the fumbly zipper, the little girl looks back at her. "Miss Maya?"

"Hmm?"

"What was that you were doing when I walked in?"

"What I was doing? Oh! It was a step sequence that I was working on for my other student, Lucas."

"The ice skater?"

"Yep."

"Is he going to do that while he skates?"

Maya nods. "Maybe. If I can get it developed properly." She returns to the floor while Kait prepares.

"Will you skate too?"

The question catches Maya off guard and she stares at the little girl. "Why do you ask that?"

"Did you skate before you became a dancer?" Kait asks.

Nodding again, Maya turns back to the mirror in front of her. "Yeah, I did."

"Why did you stop?"

Hitching on a grin, Maya scuffs a hand gently along the top of Kait's head. "Because I got you!"

Kait laughs. "No I'm serious, Miss Maya."

Sighing, Maya leans down so she is squatting in front of Kait. "All right kid, you're searching for my life story, aren't you?" Kait smiles, nodding too. "Honey, I started skating when I was about your age, a little bit younger. And I loved it. I still do. It was something I shared with my mom. And then...my mom died."

Understanding fills Kait's brown eyes. "You didn't want to do it without your mommy?"

"That's right. It was our thing."

"But don't you think that your mommy would want you to keep skating? For her?"

Maya's feet slide out from underneath her and she sits upon the wooden floor, staring at the little girl.

That night she perfects the step sequence.

-;

The Skate Canada event is held in Vancouver. Maya flies out with the rest of their strange little group, she, Shawn, and Harper Burgess being bustled off to register their athletes and themselves for the event.

The men's short program comes first after the Juniors compete and Maya is more nervous than Lucas is.

"You're not the one out there in front of four thousand people, Hart. Take it easy," Lucas commands her backstage as they wait for Lucas to get the ten minute warning.

"Sorry Friar," she says, taking the bottle of water Shawn offers her. "If you fail, it's all on me and Shawn since we are the ones -" She's cut off with Shawn slapping her shoulder. "Everything's peachy."

A woman with a clipboard and a microphone headset suddenly appears. "Mr. Friar? Start getting ready." She's gone when Maya blinks.

Lucas disappears for three minutes, coming back to where they are sitting wearing his costume of grey pants, a tan button up shirt and grey vest with suspenders. "I am never going to forgive you for choosing this music for my short."

Maya looks him up and down, grinning. "You look cute, Bucky McBoing Boing."

Lucas rolls his eyes, lightly slapping her knee to get her out of the chair so he can sit and put his skates on. Maya leaves him and Shawn alone to head down to the ice. The skater competing now is having a tough time, falling on an easy double lutz before hitting the last beat of his music, clapping his hands together in disappointment.

Lucas and Shawn are suddenly at her elbow, Lucas looking a little green around the gills. "Ready cowboy?"

He doesn't answer. Shawn shakes his head slightly and Maya clams up. Another man with a headset signals Lucas to take the ice.

" _Next to skate, Lucas Friar."_

"Do you think he can do that step sequence?" Shawn mutters in her ear.

Maya breathes out. "Hopefully."

The music begins. Maya had chosen 'Seize the Day' from Newsies. She had initially chosen it to be a pain the ass but she really liked the beats and how each could bring out a good component for Lucas on the ice. The step sequence she had developed was set for the last thirty seconds of the two minute program.

Five jumps were planned, three triples and two doubles. The doubles were both axels for the highest points. Two spins and the footwork combined with the step sequence, all done cleanly should get Lucas into the top ten to advance on to the free skate.

Oh god the free skate. She was terrified to see that. What if -

"Maya, pay attention!"

Lucas is moving into his first triple. A triple lutz, one that he had managed to perfect only a week ago.

Maya slaps a hand over her eyes, wincing. "I can't watch!"

Shawn wrenches her hand down. "Oh yes you can!"

Lucas lands the jump, bowing forward too far for it to be clean. The second jump follows right after, a triple toe loop. Simple as long as he could complete the rotations and - he lands it.

A camel spin goes without a hitch with the first double axel. His blades claw into the ice as he works into her sequence, taking his last triple on with an expression of ferocity that Maya had only seen on the face of the man next to her during his Olympic long program.

"He's got it," Shawn murmurs lowly.

The last beat of the music hits and Lucas quickly raises his hands in the air for the final pose. Except for the bobble in the first triple, Maya cannot see him being out of the top ten.

He leaves the ice and she is the first person he grabs as he slides off, bringing her in tightly. "Thank you," he whispers in her ear before releasing her, wrapping an arm around Shawn and allowing Shawn to lead him to the Kiss and Cry area for his scores.

Maya watches the large screen at the ceiling of the arena, her heart hammering in her chest. The applause was still thundering even two minutes after he had left the ice and the young girls that collected the stuffed toys and flowers were still gathering up things that scattered the pond.

First the technical scores. Thank god for the 6.0 system or she would be lost.

The scores begin at 5.5, deducted for the low landing on the triple and go to 5.7. The presentation comes after and - holy shit, all 5.8's and 5.9's. Right now with five skaters to go, Lucas is in the lead.

-;

"You okay?"

Just three hours ago, Maya had watched Lucas earn fifth place and a spot at Skate America. Riley and Farkle had skated their short dance and were in first, ready to claim a medal if they had a clean free dance.

An ache had settled in the center of Maya's gut.

Lucas's long program had had a few mistakes but the artistry - _her_ choreography had been enough to keep him in medal contention until the last two men skated and pushed him down to fifth.

He had thanked her again after the long program was over, hugging her and asking her if she would be with him in the following weeks to go to the next event. He beamed down at her like a cheshire cat and for some reason it hurt to look at him.

He loved doing what he did. In the last weeks, a light had settled in his eyes, a joy for the sport had enveloped him and he was so happy.

Maya missed that. Oh god, she missed that.

Turning to Shawn, she swallows a sigh. "My mom died three years ago, just after I had taken my senior test," she says. "I was all signed up to start at Grand Prix and then she was just...gone."

Shawn eases down into the plastic seat beside her. The arena is so quiet, completely empty of people. Maya's voice echoes in the stillness, heavy and broken. Frosty clouds of breath form in front of the both of them.

"I withdrew and I kept skating though, trying to keep myself fit while they allowed me to defer to get my head screwed back on straight." Maya shifts in her seat, uncrossing her denim clad legs. "And I just didn't go back. Riley and Farkle raced off to conquer like the rulers they are but I stayed behind. It didn't...it didn't feel right. This was something that my mom and I did together, ya know?"

"Yeah...I know." Maya misses the shadow that crosses Shawn's face.

"But now...watching everything over the last couple of days. Watching Lucas put so much effort into what we put together for him - I caught myself thinking about what I could do for me." She sighs. "I never realized how much I missed it until Riley dragged me to the skating club."

"So what do you want to do?" Shawn asks.

She sucks in a deep breath, holding it in her cheeks before letting it out slowly. "It's funny when a seven year old is smarter than you are," she mumbles.

"Maya."

"I want to come back."

Shawn fixes her with a pointed look, his eyes searching her face. He takes in a deep breath of his own before exhaling, the air puffing out of his nose.

"Okay."

 **-;**

 **dedicated with love to Debbie.**

 **Okay so here's the new upload! Maya is going to get her eligibility back as a competitive skater since she's been inactive for eighteen months. I am fudging quite a bit with this story because then it would just become a fic full of technical terms. I hope that doesn't bug anybody too much.**

 **Reviews are appreciated. Would love to know your thoughts. Thanks babes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: I freaking hate this site sometimes. So it deletes this fic twice and makes me lose the six reviews I had and then when I reupload it, it won't let me tag the characters so it's sitting there with no reviews or hits. Knock it off, FFN!**

 **.**

 **.**

 _Focus Maya. Focus._

She skates forward, trying to keep to the timing of the music that echoes into her ears. Her boot wobbles at the sudden push off and she nearly crashes to the ice. Steadying herself, she begins again.

A camel spin, man she hasn't done a camel spin in ages.

She pushes off, raising her leg up and manages one - two and - oh crap she's tired.

"You're not getting enough speed."

"What?" She looks up and there he is.

Lucas skates onto the ice, both arms folded in front of his chest as he comes to a stop beside her. "You're not getting enough speed," he says again. "And you're dropping your left shoulder too far."

"So I'm a bit rusty. What's it to ya?"

Lucas smirks, raising a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He peers at her imploringly for a second, a second too long for Maya. "Why do you want to come back?"

Maya skates backward, moving into the spin once again. "I told you that already, Huckleberry."

"It couldn't have been the greatness of my performance," Lucas chuckles. "I came in fifth."

"It wasn't that, you bonehead," Maya throws her toepick into the ice as she comes to an abrupt stop. "It was being _there._ Watching you compete. Being in the thick of things once again. I missed it. Can you judge me for that?"

Lucas is quiet for a second before shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Good." Maya lightly thumps his shoulder before moving backwards. "Catch me if you can."

Laughing, Lucas follows.

-;

"Maya?"

"What?!"

"You're wearing a tread into the floor. I'm getting holes in my shoes just looking at you. Will you please relax?"

The blonde turns wildly on Shawn. "Relax?" she nearly shrieks. "I am about to go in front of a board of ISU members to ask for my job back and you want me to relax?!"

Shawn holds up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right."

Riley chuckles from her seat as Shawn resumes his own chair beside her. "Maya, you're going to do fine. They have no reason not to give you your eligibility back."

"And even if they don't, you can apply to skate professional," Farkle offers. Riley nods in agreement.

Maya lets out a shaky sigh, running a hand through her hair. She glances sideways at Lucas. He is the only one that hasn't said anything. "Any words of advice?"

Lucas shakes his head. "Nope. I have faith in you."

Oddly enough, those words leave a mark and her rapidly beating heart begins to calm. The door opens then and a man in a suit is standing there. "Ms. Hart?"

"Y-yeah?"

"We're ready for you."

The man disappears, the door clanking shut behind him.

Shawn gets to his feet. "Let's go." He lightly taps Maya's shoulder, ushering her towards the door where inside five people were going to decide her future. Maya sure as hell wasn't ready for that.

Ignoring the courses of _Good luck_ from Riley and Farkle, Maya nearly trips over her own feet as she enters the room. Shawn steadies her, giving her a light nudge to keep moving. Her heart hammering in her chest again, Maya faces the long table.

Three men and two women sit there, passing back and forth a gold folder. The man sitting in the middle looks up as they enter, giving her a nod. "Hello Ms. Hart. Mr. Hunter."

"H-hi."

"There's no need to be so nervous," the woman sitting on the end tells her. "Have a seat and try to calm down."

Shawn walks over to where two folding chairs are leaning against the wall and brings them over. He unfolds one for Maya, which she sits in, lightly running her hands down her blue skirt. Shawn sits beside her, giving her hand a squeeze.

The man in the center of the group speaks to her again. "Ms. Hart, my name is Phillip Anderson. I am the head of the eligibility board, which is made up of my four colleagues right here." He introduces the others but Maya barely hears. "We've looked over your records and I have to add, you're body of work at the Junior level was pretty good. You passed your Senior level test with flying colors and you had been assigned two Grand Prix events before you retired suddenly."

The woman on the end speaks. "It says here that your mother passed away."

Maya nods. "That's right."

"You deferred your events to the following season but did not return," Anderson adds. "It says here that you are the registered choreographer of Lucas Friar and the assistant coach of ice dancers Riley Matthews and Farkle Minkus."

" _Assistant coach?"_ Maya mouths at Shawn.

"And that also teach at a dance school," Anderson closes the folder in front of him. "That's a pretty full plate. Why do you want to come back to competitive skating?"

Five pairs of eyes settle on her. Maya feels her face bloom with heat.

She gets to her feet, her hands smoothing her skirt once again. "Um...Riley Matthews came to the school I worked at a few months ago, asking me for help in designing her and Farkle's new program. They had just switched to ice dance and were struggling with their artistry. It was there I met Lucas Friar and I started working with him too." She draws in a shaky breath. "From then on, everything that I had learned when I was little, it came back to me.

"I missed it. Skating...it was something I shared with my mom. She took me to my first class when I was five years old. She worked out a barter system with the teacher to pay for my lessons. And she was always ... there."

"And then she wasn't," the lady on the end mutters, her chin resting in her hand.

Maya nods, sitting down. "I want to come back because I left so much unfinished when I quit. It was a dream that my mom and I shared and what kind of a daughter would I be if I didn't complete that dream?"

When Anderson speaks, his voice is slightly froggy. "Do you have your DVD?"

"Yes sir." Shawn passes the DVD clenched in his fingers to Anderson, who slides the disc into his laptop.

Two weeks ago, Maya had compiled an 'audition' skate which Riley had taped for her. She leans forward slightly to watch the laptop, seeing herself appear on the screen as the music begins to play. Anderson raises a brow at her, smirking slightly. "Tarzan music?"

"Phil Collins," she corrects.

If she got her eligibility renewed, this program that they were watching now would become her short program for the following season.

Once the last beats of the music come to an end, Anderson closes the laptop. "Ms. Hart, would you step outside so we can discuss this?"

Maya's sure she's going to vomit all over her shoes as Shawn practically drags her from that stuffy room. Once the door is shut behind them, she turns to face him. "I felt like I was in front of a firing squad in there."

Shawn rolls his eyes. "Will you sit down and relax?" He points her to the empty chair beside Lucas.

She sits for about two seconds, before attempting to rise. Lucas's hand snaps out and catches her wrist. "Uh-uh."

Maya scoffs but leans back, crossing her legs in front of her. Her right foot begins to bounce and then her shoe flies right off. "My god I am a mess," she mutters as Lucas fetches the shoe and replaces on her foot. "Thank you Prince Charming."

"You're welcome, Cinderella."

The door opens again. It's the woman this time and she waves at Maya. "We made our decision, Maya."

Maya feels like she's gone limp. Lucas pulls on her arm, bringing her to her feet before steering her towards the door. Shawn follows, him being the one that shut the door after them once they are back inside the room.

"Have a seat."

She sits, her knees knocking together.

Anderson gives her a gentle smile, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "Who would be your coach?"

"Huh-what?" Anderson repeats the question. Maya points a shaky finger at the man beside her. "H-he would."

"Okay so Maya there was a withdrawal from the Cup of China," the woman says. "Missy Bradford had to pull out due to an ankle injury so we will be sending you there. Do you think you can be ready in two weeks?"

"Wait a minute," Maya leans forward slightly, her fingers still trembling in her lap. "Does this mean -?"

Anderson nods, his smile growing bigger. "Your eligibility is renewed. Your performance at the Cup of China will decide if you go onto Nationals or not."

A shuddery breath escapes Maya's lips and she hears Shawn laugh in relief.

"Can you have two programs prepared in time?"

"Yeah of course." Maya ignores the now rising panic in her belly. Cup of China was in two weeks.

 _Two weeks._

 _-;_

In her twenty years, Maya has never been more afraid than she is at this very moment.

A thousand pairs of eyes gaze down at her as she trembles and shakes, her fear obvious to everyone. Waiting for her music to start seems like it's taking forever, increasing the rapid pounding of her heart in her ears.

She wore a dress that fell to her knees, a black skirt with black sheer sleeves. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail with a daisy that Riley tucked into the base right before she had stepped onto the ice. She hadn't bothered to put make up on. If she advanced to the free skate, maybe she would attempt doing her eyes but right now, all she wanted to do was get through this.

Her music starts. Her eyes dart to the edge of the ice, where Shawn stands on the other side of the boards. He gives her the tiniest of nods.

She moves.

So forgive her for using a song from Tarzan for her short program. It wasn't the conservative choice. She never gave a shit about the _right_ choice, the safe choice. That was never how she played in the game.

First jump coming up. A triple toe loop. She could hear Lucas's voice in her head.

 _Have enough speed and it was be easy. Something you taught me, shortstack._

Oh Huckleberry.

She lands the triple.

Next was a camel spin. Again, simple with enough speed.

She bobbles a bit coming out of the spin, moving into her own created step sequence. Gee she really needs to come up with a name for that. Riley's already bugging her to teach her and Farkle that sequence for their Grand Prix Final original dance.

The beat of the music finally reaches her and she lets it carry her on. The audience is clapping along too - well that was a first for her.

The final element in her program was a double axel, which she lands shakily before coming to her last position, raising her fist to the ceiling. Not the best but not too bad for her first time back. She'll be in maybe eighth place going into the free skate. Maybe lower.

Wrong.

"Are those scores right?" Maya mutters lowly to Shawn, glancing up at the screen. "That can't be right."

"Those are right." Shawn laughs softly. "Maya do you even realize what you did out there?"

Now she's confused. "What? What did I do?"

"One of your doubles you turned into a triple. You had a slight bobble on the camel spin and your axel you landed a little too low but - Maya you did really well. Third place is exactly right for you."

-;

She finishes in sixth place overall. She's going to Nationals.

Holy shit.

 **.**

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 **Well at last here is the next chapter. Thoughts and reviews would be greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

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She waves the DVD underneath Riley's nose. "Riles, you should like this."

With an excited yelp, Riley yanks the DVD out of her hand. "Tangled?!" she shrieks. "Okay peaches, what's in that lovely head of yours?"

Farkle lets out a low moan that both the girls ignore. "'Kingdom Dance," Maya explains. "I'd like to rework your short dance to fit with that music. Riley, you of course would be Rapunzel and Farkle would be Flynn slash Eugene."

"Do we have to dress like them?" Farkle whines.

"No," Maya shakes her head. "Of course not Farkle. But -" she points at the DVD again. "I have an instrumental version of this song that I think would work very well. Just trust me."

In the last weeks, their short dance had been suffering greatly. After Riley and Farkle had gone to Grand Prix Final, they had both fallen out of an easy step sequence (not hers, thank goodness) and it had cost them a medal. The Nationals were coming up within the month so they had to move quickly. About a week ago, Maya had walked in on Riley watching Tangled over and over again mournfully, and that was when the little nugget of an idea popped into her head.

"Riley, you always wanted to be a princess when we were little," Maya says with a grin. "And Farkle, if I remember correctly, you wanted to be the great white knight coming to rescue her?"

Heat blooms on Farkle's face, causing both Maya and Riley to laugh. "If you ever tell anyone that -"

"Or what?" Riley nudges his arm. "You'll skate her to death?"

"No, but I will tell everyone about the time when we were in our first classes as six year olds and you fell right on your -"

"Okay, okay."

-;

"You're stumped, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

Maya looked up from the laptop she was holding in her lap to see Lucas standing over her, all lean and gorgeous and - stop it Maya!

Lucas gives her a grin. "On your long," he says, nodding towards her laptop screen.

Maya glances back, her eyes settling on the library of songs she has stored before shrugging a shoulder. "My free program isn't clean. The music isn't right. I threw that together in a week to get ready for China Cup. Believe it or not, I'd like to place higher than sixth." She sighs then, leaning back as she closes her laptop. "I don't know, Lucas. It took a lot for me to come back and now I am terrified at what is to come."

Lucas slides down to sit beside her on the floor, his shoulder brushing hers. "You did," he agrees. "But why are you scared now? You made a mark, Maya."

"Yeah, a smudge."

Lucas rolls his eyes. "Okay, a smudge. How are you going to change that? What are you going to do? Are you going to back out?"

"Of course not." Maya gets to her feet, creasing her fingers together as she begins to pace. Lucas watches her with heavily hooded eyes. "I'm scared, Huckleberry. I'm afraid I am going to fall flat on my face."

"That's normal, Maya."

"I know it is," she counters. "But not for me. Before I quit, I wasn't nervous at all. I know that sounds like bullshit but ask Riley. This stuff was easy for me. I wanted to be the best and goddamn it, I wouldn't stop trying until I was. And why are you laughing at me?!"

Lucas tries to cover up his snicker with a cough. "I am not laughing at you, Maya."

"Yes you are!"

"Okay, maybe I am," He clambers to his feet. "Maya, you're human. You are not T-1000. Everything you are feeling right now just shows that you're human."

"And before I wasn't?"

"The jury's still out on that one. Kidding!" He ducks the pillow she throws at his head.

-;

 _Think, Maya, think._

She moves slowly across the ice, letting the music in her earbuds carry her. She's alone in the rink, the stadium having shut down an hour ago.

The others had left twenty minutes before, a gleeful Riley nearly dragging Farkle out by the scruff of his neck. Their short dance was complete and they were ready for the Nationals in a few days. Maya had been swept up in a heavy embrace by Riley that nearly choked her before Riley had practically ran off the ice with a confused and exhausted Farkle in tow.

She remained behind, telling Lucas and Shawn to both leave her alone for a while so she could get her head together. Her long program wasn't quite ready and she wanted to give it one more run.

With the flick of her thumb on her iPod, her program music begins in her earbuds and she begins the flow into the opening sequence.

As Maya moved into the first jump, she thought about what she wanted to do with the Nationals. Shawn had told her that she had made a mark in the Cup of China. Despite placing sixth, she was seen. She had shown people that she was still here and she was fighting to come back.

Maya wanted them to know she was here.

Not to win, not to be the best.

That she was _here_.

She lands her second triple cleanly, the music carrying her as she moves. Dipping into the sit spin, she keeps her leg steady and straight. Twelve rotations and into her step sequence and then ... she flies.

-;

The men show their short programs first.

Nineteen men compete and Lucas had drawn the last spot. She watches with a smirk as he takes the ice in his suspenders, his hair still wet from the shower he had taken thirty minutes before to loosen his sore muscles from the plane flight.

The familiar violin music begins. A strange look crosses Lucas's face as he begins, and Maya can't help but smile. He's in the zone and she wouldn't have it any other way.

The next two and a half minutes are the best skate of Lucas's life. She cheers right along with the rest of the crowd as he takes his bows and joins Shawn in the Kiss and Cry to wait for his scores.

The judges put him in fourth going into the free program.

"You got a medal, Huckleberry," she says to him when he steps from the Kiss and Cry.

She giggles when Lucas ducks his head bashfully, a red flush crossing his neck. "Nah. It's just the short."

"And if you don't fall on your ass in the long, you've got a medal," Maya says again. She lightly slaps his chest. "See ya on the podium."

Lucas is left staring after her.

-;

Riley and Farkle fly into first place with their short dance. Not that Maya expected anything less from them. Farkle started off the dance with a bit of sneer on his face but Riley's joy was infectious and within seconds they were soaring across the ice.

It's her turn on the third day.

She completes her short program with ease and pulls in 5.7's to her surprise, which places her in fifth going into the free program. Turning to Shawn after the scores come through, she finds him watching her with a smile.

"What?"

Shawn shakes his head. "Nothing, honey. Absolutely nothing."

-;

Day four, her guess proves true and she watches Lucas grab the silver medal at his second US Nationals. The ceremony is held that night. The gold medalist had finished ahead of Lucas by just two points, due to the triple axel that he had landed cleanly, whilst Lucas had not. This medal also put him on the World team.

She watches Lucas nearly stumble off of the podium, one of the officials stopping him from slipping to the ice. He politely thanks the man and does the winners' lap before exiting the ice and practically careening into her.

"Hey, you okay?"

Lucas nods wordlessly before shoving the bouquet of carnations and the medal into her hand, taking off like a shot down the hallway towards the men's locker rooms. She follows behind, fighting back a laugh.

Riley pops up at her elbow as she waits, wearing black sweatpants and a hoodie with her hair pulled back in a bun. "Is Lucas okay?"

Maya giggles, plucking a carnation from the bouquet and tucking it behind Riley's ear. "I think this whole thing just hit him over the head."

Riley narrows her eyes. "He's going to the World Championships. This should be a good thing."

The door to the locker room opens and Lucas emerges, wiping his mouth on a paper towel but still looking a little green around the gills. He catches both Riley and Maya staring at him before rolling his eyes. "Don't even start."

Maya holds up her hands in surrender, nearly dropping the medal in the process. "I didn't say a word."

"Oh bull," he snaps, snatching the medal and the flowers away from her before pushing headlong down the rapidly filling hallway, the girls trotting after him with big grins plastered on their faces. "Just you wait, Maya. Your long is day after tomorrow and you won't be so ...peachy."

Maya ignores Riley's laughter.

-;

That following night, she watches her two closest friends claim their first national title. They are last on the ice and the audience is getting restless. Some events early in the day had to be delayed due to weather problems. Maya was relieved that her hotel was just down the block but that wasn't the case for some of the athletes.

When the Michael Jackson music plays, that captures the audience's attention. Maya laughs aloud as the audience begins to participate, just as they had done three nights before. Lucas appears at her elbow when they are hitting their last spin.

"Where've you been?" she asks.

"Been up in the stands," he replies, a hint of drawl in his voice. The audience cheers at another difficult but entertaining beat on the ice. "They've got this."

Maya nods. The music comes to an end and Riley's almost screaming with happiness, bouncing up and down on her blades as Farkle leads her into a bow for the judges. "Yeah, they do."

The medal ceremony is an hour later. The crowd cheers as Riley and Farkle are announced for the gold. It's evident to Maya how much of a fan favorite they are easily becoming, especially after a lackluster season last year. This is good. They deserve this.

"You'll be up there tomorrow night," Lucas breathes in her ear as the national anthem plays.

She slaps his arm. "Stop it!"

-;

He's right.

Goddammit he's right.

Somehow Maya gets through her free program without falling on her face. She bows, not really hearing the audience's yells. It sounds more like an annoying buzzing in her ears as she exit's the ice, Shawn's arms catching her before she falls right to the floor.

"If I'm in the top ten I will be surprised," she mutters.

The 5.8's glaring at her on the screen beg to differ. She's tied with the girl in third down to the last point.

"What does that mean?" she asks Shawn.

He shrugs a shoulder. "I think they are about to rescore to get rid of the tie."

The rescoring takes about ten minutes. One of her presentation scores drops from a 5.8 to a 5.7.

There go the Worlds.

"Bullshit!" Shawn growls. "That is so stupid. The skaters you choreographed all medaled and you don't?"

Maya sighs. "Shawn, don't."

He huffs in anger, fighting to keep composure once he realizes the cameras are back on his face. He holds out a hand and Maya takes it, stepping down from the Kiss and Cry to the main walkway towards the locker rooms.

She feels a presence behind her before soft fingers capture her free hand. She turns just slightly to catch Riley's warm eyes. Sudden tears burn her eyes and she looks away but Riley doesn't let go of her hand.

Once they reach the locker room, it's blissfully empty. Shawn walks in first, and Maya follows with Riley. Two more people suddenly cut in as well and Maya's relieved that it's just Farkle and Lucas.

"So what happens now?" Riley asks. "File an appeal?"

Shawn nods. "I will do that right now." He goes to leave but Maya's voice stops him.

"Don't Shawn," she whispers. "Don't try to bully my way onto the world team."

Riley stares, aghast. "Maya, that third spot was yours! They should have given it to you, not that other girl."

Maya shakes her head. "That girl has more competitive experience than I have. They were going to give it to her either way so it doesn't matter. Listen, I am still the first alternate. I am not quitting. All of you have bent over backwards for me to get back to where am I am now."

Lucas lets out a long audible sigh that brings Maya's eyes over to him. He sighs again, giving her a pointed look that makes a shiver run down her spine. "It's still not fair," he adds. "But if you're sure."

"Positive," she says. Shawn catches her shoulder and she turns around to hug him. "Thank you. For everything you have done."

Shawn gives her a sad smile. "I feel like I failed."

"You didn't!" she protests. "You've got that one over there his first Nationals medal and a spot on the world team."

Shawn gives Lucas a smile. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Lucas rolls his eyes.

Riley and Farkle both wrap Maya in a hug. "You gonna be okay?"

She nods. "This is good actually," Maya says. "I'll get my Grand Prix assignments in September and I will kick some ass. For now I've got my students back at the school."

That's what she will return too. That's what she will channel her energy into until it's time to start again.

She's not giving up now.

-;

Riley's father finds her at the arena on the last night of the World's competition.

Maya is just finishing a double axel jump and nearly topples to the ice when she catches the elder man out of the corner of her eye. "I thought I was alone."

Cory gives her a wistful smile. "I was just coming to pick up some paperwork from my office." He rises from the chair he had perched himself in, picking up a manila folder from the seat beside him. "Riley called me."

"I'm surprised you and Mrs. Matthews didn't fly out to be with them," she says.

"I might say the same thing for you," Cory replies. "You didn't watch, did you?" Maya shakes her head. "They didn't medal. They came in sixth. And Mr. Friar, uh Lucas? He placed eighth."

Maya sucks air through her teeth. "Damn. I really thought they would medal after what they did at Nationals."

Cory cocks his head. "I think they wanted you there with them. You are a registered coach, are you not?"

"That was something Shawn did to help get my eligibility renewed. I choreographed three dances for them."

"And they are doing better than they have been," Cory says. "Can I tell you a story, Miss Hart?"

Maya skates off of the ice and sits down beside Cory. "Lay it on me, Mr. M."

Cory rolls his eyes before settling back into his seat. "February 21st, 2003. My last Olympics." Maya scuffs a laugh and Cory ignores her. "We are so close to the gold medal. One more goal and we got it. It's ours. I was the goalie, I told you that, right?" Before Maya can open her mouth, he plows on. "We're tied. If I can stop one more shot from going into my net, then the game goes into sudden death and we got it, ya know?"

Maya nods. "Yeah, I know."

"Then...I miss one shot. It goes in and the timer buzzes and that's it. We got the silver while the other team has won the gold." Maya peers at Cory, seeing that he is not even looking at her. His face is drawn and lost in the memory. "I had never been more disappointed in my life, Maya. I thought I had let everybody down because I missed one shot. One point. But in truth, the silver was pretty damn good."

"So you're saying not going to Worlds is pretty good?" Maya asks.

Cory shakes his head. "No, that's not what I am saying. What I am saying is that we worked incredibly hard to get where we were and most of us were retiring once the season concluded. I had a wife and a daughter to get home too. I was ready for it to be over. But...but the color of the medal never lessened my love of hockey. It didn't make me a failure because I missed one goal."

Maya gets the point. She lets out a small puff of breath through her nose, glancing up at her best friend's father. "I feel like I let them all down," she whispers. "I worked hard to have them succeed and I didn't succeed myself."

"But you did, Maya," Cory says. "This is your first season back and it wasn't even a full one and you made yourself known."

"That's what Shawn and the others keep saying!" Maya says shakily.

"And it's the truth. My first season, I did a face plant on the ice when we at the sectional championships, broke my nose and they had to put in the alternate goalie. We lost big time, two to twenty seven! When Topanga did her first season on the slopes, she nearly broke her neck attempting a double twist or whatever the heck it was in an attempt to medal. Didn't work and she had to withdraw. We all have 'failure' moments, Maya," Cory says. "And you didn't even fail."

"I just wasn't good enough," she whispers.

"Bullshit." Maya stares at Cory in surprise. "You are good enough. Don't even think you're not, okay?" Maya manages a smile, allowing Cory to give her hand a squeeze before he gets to his feet. "I'll let you get back to work. Be careful."

"Thank you, Mr. Matthews. For everything."

Cory gives her a look so gentle it almost hurts. "You're welcome Maya."

Then he's gone.

Before Maya can retake the ice, her phone rings. She picks it up without looking at the caller id, Riley's snuffly voice greeting her on the other end. "Hey Riles."

" _Peaches,"_ Riley whispers before bursting into tears.

Maya sits back down in her seat, listening to Riley cry her heart out in disappointment, whispering small words of comfort.

-;

 **Okay that's all she wrote. I do apologize for the length of time between updates. My mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and I have some heart issues going on. Fingers crossed that hopefully everything will be okay soon.**

 **Just a heads up, SLOW ASS BURN for Lucas and Maya. Right now they are still getting to know each other. I'm planning on this fic drawing over at least eight years of the fab four's lives so Lucaya won't be jumping together just yet.**

 **Review?**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: Hey guys how are we doing? Are you all okay? I know not getting a new season really sucks. Try to hang in there. I'm not going anywhere. I have a huge story to tell and I will not abandon it unlike a certain network.**

 **.**

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The new season arrives rather quickly. This was it. This was the big one.

The Olympic season.

Maya stares at the calendar in worry one late afternoon, counting the days up until Grand Prix assignments come out. She had finally left her job at the dance school, an understanding Grace wishing her the best for what was to come.

Saying goodbye to the kids was rough but a part of it...felt right.

Isn't that awful? But for some reason, it felt okay.

In September, the Grand Prix assignments come out and Maya's name is on the list.

"Skate America," she whispers, her eyes scanning the chart. "And the rest of you are at Skate Canada."

"Oh peaches, you're gonna be all by yourself," Riley says mournfully, wrapping her arms around Maya's shoulders.

Maya lightly shrugs her off, her eyes still on the chart. "Wow."

"Maya? You okay?"

Finally looking away, Maya manages a smile for Farkle. "Yeah, I'm good. This is just..."

"A lot?"

She nods. "Yeah."

Farkle leans over her left shoulder, pointing at the computer screen. "Hey look. We'll all be together at the Trophy though." His hand comes down and rests on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "It'll be okay."

"I know it will."

-;

The checks for her choreographing work continue to come in over the next several weeks. The weeks bleed into months, with Skate America and Skate Canada drawing nearer.

Maya throws out her old programs and gets to work as best she can on a new short. With the realization that the Olympics are in six months and her work in Grand Prix will be a factor in her and the others getting to the Games, a rise of panic clogs her throat.

Oh fuck.

To Lucas's delight, she puts Seize the Day on backburner as she works on a new short for him. Riley holds onto Kingdom Dance with clawed fingers, only relenting when Farkle threatens to throw the CD into the trash if she doesn't let it go.

One night she's alone in her apartment going through her old DVDs when she discovers her old copy of Prince of Egypt.

Again, the seeds of an idea begin to grow.

Riley yells in joy when she sees the DVD that following morning.

"Anything for me?" Lucas asks her, leaning over her shoulder to look at the other DVD she holds in her hand. "Mr. Holland's Opus?"

"Hey, why can't we have that one?" Farkle whines, still trying to snatch the other disc away from Riley. "The end song is really good."

"American Symphony will be his free skate. I still haven't figured out his short yet. May have to keep Seize the Day."

" _Noooo!"_

Of course she was just screwing with him. The audio track called 'Warriors' from Feet of Flames is on Lucas's iPod the next day.

-;

The older man is sitting in the stands when Maya arrives early for private practice.

She drops her duffel bag by the door to the locker room, turning to look at him. He hasn't noticed her yet, his phone clutched in both hands as he thumbs the screen. Only when she loudly clears her throat he finally looks up.

"Oh, hello there young lady!" the man greets her, clampering to his feet. "I'm Joe Friar. You must be Maya."

Maya takes the hand he offers her. "I must. I mean, I am. Sorry."

Joe gives her a friendly smile. "Not a problem. Nice to finally meet the gal that is helping my boy win those medals at last."

"Wait a minute, you're Lucas's grandfather?" Maya asks. "The one that signs my paycheck?"

Joe nods. "That would be me."

"What are you doing here? Lucas told me you never came to practices before."

"He's here to see me." Maya turns to see Cory approaching her down the narrow hallway from his office.

"Oh?" She looks back at Joe. "How come?"

Joe opens his mouth to answer but Cory interrupts. "He's considering investing in the arena."

"That's right," Joe says. "I came a little early because I wanted to watch some of the miracle working you and Mr. Hunter have done with my grandson and then I will scamper off. No worries, Miss Hart. I will not intervene."

Maya leaves then, heading down to the locker room to change into her warm up clothes. As she's slipping out of her white sweater, the door crashes open and Lucas stomps through. The tirade he's ready to give her dies on his tongue before a red heat spreads across his cheeks and he quickly turns his back. "S-sorry."

Chuckling, Maya zips up her nylon jacket. "You can look now, Huckleberry." Lucas turns back around, his face still burning and eyes trained on the floor. "You were going to yell at me about something?"

"I was? Oh!" The embarrassment fades, replaced by slight anger that Maya has never seen. "What's my grandfather doing here?"

"He's meeting with Riley's dad after watching our practice. He's thinking about investing in the arena."

" _Why?"_

"I don't know. Ask him, Lucas," Maya replies, her eyes narrowing. "Are you okay?"

Lucas shakes his head, walking over to his locker and yanking it open with such force that Maya wonders if he is going to yank it off the hinges. "I don't want him here."

Maya sits down on the bench to pull on her skates, watching Lucas out of the corner of her eye as he quickly unbuttons his shirt and pulls it off. She doesn't take too much time to appreciate the lines up muscles up his back before they're covered up by the teeshirt that slides on. He sits down next to her to pull on his skates but his fingers tremble so much that the laces cannot get through the holes on the boots.

As Maya kneels down before him, her hands gently rest on his fingers. "Let me." His hands flop to his sides and a defeated sigh escapes his lips as she tightly laces up both boots with double knots. "You'll never get these off again," Maya says, casting him a grin that Lucas manages to return. "Come on."

They walk hand in hand from the locker room and back to the ice. Maya pulls her blade guards off and hit's the ice first, followed by Lucas. When he reaches her side, she leans in, whispering, "Just don't pay him any mind. We'll work until Shawn gets here, okay?"

"Okay." Lucas turns quickly on his blades, facing her as he moves backwards. "Did you pick up your dresses yet?"

She nods. "Yeah. I got Riley's too. She's got this cute little violet number for their short dance that is gonna knock Farkle's eyes out. He's in a suit with his tie the same color as her dress."

"They're gonna look like they're going to a wedding, aren't they?" Lucas smiles.

"Something like that," Maya replies with a smile of her own. She casts a quick look over to the stands where Joe sits by himself, Cory having disappeared a while before without her noticing. "Did you get the iTunes track I sent you?"

"Oh, you downloaded Symphony?"

"I'm guessing you haven't seen it yet."

"No, I haven't checked my phone since last night," Lucas replies. "Wait, I'm gonna try a double axel."

Maya moves back against the boards, her eyes watching Lucas's feet as he skates. He gains speed easily but -oh, not high enough! There's a scowl on Lucas's face as he clampers to his feet again, wiping the snow from his pants. "You all right?"

"I don't get it, that's an easy jump for me," he fumes quietly, his back to his grandfather.

" _Hi, Joe."_

Maya looks over Lucas's shoulder to see Shawn standing at the opening of the boards. He drops his bag and leans down to pull his skates from it's depths. Joe nods at Shawn without saying anything, his eyes still trained on the two of them.

Obviously irritated, Shawn yanks on his boots and joins them moments later. "What's he doing here?" He mutters softly.

"Ask Cory," Maya replies, her voice just as low. "Come on, we've got work to do."

-;

Four hours later, Maya's leg is smarting from the three smacks it took from tumbling to the ice. Lucas's stiffness and lack of concentration caused her to lose her own drive, making her nearly blow her top at the blond.

"Skate Canada and America are in just a few weeks and that cannot be what we bring," Shawn tells them. Joe has thankfully left, retreated to the office to talk with Cory.

"That isn't my plan," Maya says, her tone snippier than she intends. "How about you, Friar?"

Shame crosses Lucas's face. "Not mine either."

Maya gets to her feet and moves from the stands, her skates tucked under her arm. Lucas follows her back to the locker room and once the door is shut behind them, she rounds on him. "What is that out there? You can't do that at Skate Canada. There's too much riding on it this year."

"I know!" he barks, shoulders slumping in dejection. "It's -"

"It's what?"

Jamming his skates in his locker, Lucas slams the door shut and slumps down on the bench. Maya sits beside him, her own skates sliding to the floor. "My grandfather and I never had the best relationship, Maya. He - he is the one paying for all of this and ..."

"Well what's wrong with that?" Maya asks.

"Nothing. I -" His voice cuts off again. "Never mind."

"Okay," Maya stands up and grabs her boots out of her locker, letting them fall to the floor with a thud. "Look, Lucas, you don't have to tell me anything. I can tell you do not want to talk about it and that's okay."

"Maya -"

She turns, taking the hand that he holds out to her. "It's okay," she whispers.

Maya can feel the gratitude seeping through him. With a smile, she gently loosens their fingers and returns to get dressed.

-;

Skate America comes much quicker than Maya would have liked. Lucas had accompanied her and Shawn to Boston, despite Maya's pestering for him to stay behind. Her brain is on overload through the first night when the men and pairs compete in their short programs.

"Maya, I can see the steam coming off of your head."

She huffs. "Pfft, you should see inside my head."

"Brain melting?" Lucas asks sympathetically.

Shawn rolls his eyes, turning back to the tablet in front of him. "Maya, you're the last one on the ice tomorrow night."

"Really?! Again?" Maya looks over his shoulder at the screen. "Why? I hate going last."

"You keep drawing the short stick," Shawn says sympathetically. "Gives you more time to mentally prepare."

"Gives me more time to hurl my guts up in nerves."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

-;

"Okay it looks like your biggest competition will be this Missy Bradford. She was the one you replaced at China Cup last year."

"I know Shawn."

"She's won this three years in a row. She will chew you up and spit you out if you do not keep yourself focused."

"I know Shawn."

"Oh and this girl from Russia. Her name is Elene Petrova. Won the Worlds' last year with the highest score recorded in fifteen years."

"I know Shawn!" Maya snatches the tablet from Shawn's hands, ready to hurl it across the room. "This isn't helping!"

"Okay, okay, sorry." Her coach takes the tablet back, stuffing it back into his bag while it's still showing images of the dark haired skater. "I think I'm more nervous than you are."

Maya laughs. "Something we agree on." She eyes the tablet. "Can you get the feed from the ice?"

Nodding, Shawn produces the computer and hands it to her. She types in a few search words and the stream of what is going on just fifteen feet from her pops up. Elene is skating at that moment, looking glorious in a purple dress with her black hair tied back in an elegant bun. She finishes her program with a flawless double axel, triple lutz combination, bringing the audience to their feet.

She swallows at the rising bile in her throat. Perhaps her remarking about puking her guts up wasn't too far off from the truth.

-;

Maya dresses slowly in her simple black costume. Looks pretty plain and dumb compared to what most of these women were wearing out there today.

She fumbles with her hair, managing it into a ponytail before a pair of hands clasp her shaking ones. "Here, let me help."

Lucas is gentle with her hair, tightening it at the base of the ponytail before letting her go. "Are you okay?"

She swallows at the lump in her throat before answering. "I'm not sure," she says. "I don't remember being this scared before."

"It's understandable," Lucas says gently. "Your first full season."

"I've been barking at you and Farkle and Riley for being nervous and I'm just a big fat wimp," Maya says sadly before she is swept against Lucas's chest in a bone crushing hug. After what seems like an eternity but again, it's all too short of a time, he releases her. A thumb brushes a lock of hair from her cheek. "Thanks huckleberry."

"Anytime shortstack."

"Maya?" Shawn's voice pulls them out of their reverie. "You're up next."

"Thanks Shawn."

This time, Lucas laces up her skates nice and tight, leading her out to the arena by the hand before melting into the throe of people. Shawn takes her hand as she takes the ice, turning her around to face him.

"I know you're scared," he whispers. "I know that this is really big. Whatever happens, I know that you did your best. You go out there and you forget about the crowd, the scores, or what's to come. You concentrate on you. That's all."

Maya nods. Shawn quickly kisses her on the forehead and gives her a gentle push. She skates a warm up lap, turning towards the judges when her name is announced and polite applause greets her. She can see it already on the judges' faces. There is nothing planned special for her. She has not got a chance so why not just have fun.

Her music begins. Her untitled step sequence is first, a shortened one this time. Following is a double axel, immediately leading into a triple lutz.

And somehow she does this all perfectly.

After that two and half minutes, Maya hit's the ice in her end pose, raising her fists to the ceiling. She can see Shawn where she left him, applauding so hard. She can't see Lucas though.

The judges are her favorite. Even if she comes in last, the looks on their faces are what keeps her on her feet. After bowing to them and the small crowd, she exit's the ice and nearly falls into Shawn's arms.

"I am so proud of you," he says.

Maya smiles. "I'm proud of me too."

After stumbling to the Kiss and Cry, Shawn presses a stuffed white bear into her hands. It seems like an eternity for her scores to be released on the screen but then there they are.

She's in first place.

"That's gotta be a mistake."

Shawn just laughs, hugging her again.

 **-;**

 **That's all she wrote. Do check out my polyvore so you can see the girls' skating outfits. I'm under the name 'queenbonniebennet'. Also do please leave a review. It helps me get chapters up faster. Thanks guys. Have a wonderful day.**


	5. Chapter 5

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 **a/n: My goodness what a week. So we are finding out more about my mom's cancer and it looks like, not sure yet, that she will be able to avoid chemotherapy. It's on the table though because the grade of her tumor was Grade 3 which is the most aggressive. But during the surgery, they got all of the invasive cancer. They have to a re-excision lumpectomy because they didn't get all of the non-invasive cancer, the DCIS. So radiation is a go after she heals up from the new surgery, we just really hope she is not going to need chemotherapy. All good thoughts sent our way would be greatly appreciated. For now, enjoy the new chapter!**

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After winning the silver medal, Maya was rushed right off to Skate Canada.

At her hotel room, she tucks the medal into her carrier case, hiding it behind a pile of woolen socks. Her fingers gently run across the edges of the medal, smiling softly to herself. "It's a start, Mom."

"What?"

Maya turns around to see Lucas standing in her hotel room doorway, dressed in black pants and a long sleeved navy blue teeshirt. His hair is still wet from his shower, and slicked back like he had fallen asleep with a hat on. "Nothing. You look good."

He smiles bashfully. "Better than the suspenders."

Maya laughs. "Hey, you pulled those off pretty well."

"Never again if I can help it."

Shawn suddenly appears behind Lucas. "You two ready to go?"

"Yep."

"Let's head down to the arena. Riley is already down there registering her and Farkle."

"Where's Farkle?" Lucas asks.

"Asleep in his room. The dance teams have early practice tomorrow."

Maya grabs her jacket, lacing it on over her shoulders before taking the hand Lucas offers. "Let's go."

-;

They arrive at the arena not too long later. Riley's waiting inside the main doors, wrapped in her team jacket with her long hair falling loosely down her back. "Hey Riles," Maya greets her. "All registered for tomorrow?"

She nods. "Yep. I talked to Harper and she will be here sometime tonight."

"I'll go get you registered," Shawn breaks away from the tiny group, disappearing into the gathering crowd of people.

Riley watches Lucas for a moment before turning back to Maya. "I never got to congratulate you. Silver is amazing."

Maya laughs at the suddenness, accepting Riley's hug. "I'm pretty pleased with it." Before she can say anything else, Shawn reappears. "Hunter, you look like somebody died."

She's not far off. Shawn hands a piece of paper to Lucas. "Sorry kid. I tried to get you out of it."

Lucas stares at the paper. "I skate first?" Riley and Maya dramatically gasp, Lucas ignores them. "Never done that before."

"Really? Not even on junior level?" Maya asks.

"I was lucky."

"Hey, it won't be that bad. You'll get it over with right away and then you can go back to the hotel and sleep."

Lucas hands the paper back to Shawn, shifting his gym bag to his other shoulder. "How much time to do I got?"

"About ten minutes." He moves then into the burgeoning crowd towards the locker rooms.

Maya watches him go, turning to Riley. "What's with his weird ass jitters?" she asks.

Shawn gives Maya a knowing look. "Joe's supposed to be here for the long program day after tomorrow."

"I thought he never came for competitions?"

"Well he's coming to this one."

The three minute warning comes awfully fast, Lucas reappearing right after that. He gets the okay to take the ice, his name announced to the audience before the music begins. Then it's over as soon as it begins.

Lucas looks to Maya like a good wind could blow him right over as he leaves the ice and goes with Shawn to the kiss and cry for his scores. Good scores too, 5.7's and 5.8's but that won't hold especially being first in the skate order.

"I don't think we even needed to be here," Maya whispers to Riley as they wait for Shawn and Lucas to return. "Couple hours sleep I could have caught up on."

"It's only the short," Riley reminds her. "And we all have a full day tomorrow. Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"What's up with Lucas acting so strange around his granddad? He seems all right to me."

Maya worries her bottom lip, her eyes catching Lucas walking towards them with his skate blades slung through his fingers. "A long story that only Lucas can tell you. I'm not even sure what it is but I'm not going to push."

Whatever it was, it wasn't her place.

-;

Training day delivers with it's full grueling exhaustion.

A very non-conservative choice for Riley and Farkle's short dance music was a One Direction medley. One of Maya's guilty pleasure songs on her iPod was 'Eighteen' and she felt it fit well for the two of them. Their free dance was from Prince of Egypt. "To capture the audience and the judge's attention," she had explained to her friends. "And to get them in your corner before you whip out the big guns for the free."

Farkle had rolled his eyes and 'stomp-skated' away but Riley was fully on board. Now that had been a fun program to choreograph and it took her and Harper both nearly losing their voices from shouting so much before the programs were fit and the skaters themselves were satisfied.

Maya retired to bed early that Tuesday night after seeing the run through of the short dance and executing a quick one of her own short. She had been almost too tired to eat dinner but once Lucas had waved a burger in front of her nose, she got up the energy. "Huckleberry, I love you," she says through sloppy bites, missing the way that Lucas's eyes crinkle with an emotion she hasn't seen in a long time.

Their friends bang out their short dance to a cheering crowd at the arena and place a surprising third going into the free dance.

Then it's Lucas's turn again.

Joe Friar arrived in the midst of training, greeting Lucas coolly before tugging Shawn off to have a hurried whispered conversation with him. Maya watches the two men in their mini football huddle before grabbing Lucas's arm. "We've got a lot of work to do so please do not pay attention to him. You look at me."

For the first time since they arrived in Vancouver, she gets a smile out of her friend.

After checking the standings before they head into the night of the long program, Maya is surprised to learn that Lucas had held onto first place. There were not many men competing, only nine in total but still, quite an achievement.

Joe's there that night. He sits right in the front row so he is the first thing that Lucas sees when he takes the ice near the end for his long.

"Relax, everything's going to be fine," Shawn whispers to her. Is he wrong though.

Lucas falls twice, once out of an easy triple toe loop and another out of a step sequence. Maya winces when he slides to the ice the second time, slapping a hand over her eyes. "Is it over yet?"

"Yeah," Shawn says, his voice dropping with resignation. "It's over."

-;

"Lucas? Earth to Lucas!"

He jumps back after Maya claps her hands in his face. "What?"

"I lost you there for a moment." Maya gently bumps his shoulder. "Come on, we have to go watch Riley and Farkle kick some ass."

Lucas sighs, rising up off of the bed to take the jacket Maya hands him. "Hopefully someone can."

Maya rolls her eyes, not daring saying anything else in fear of starting a fight. Lucas takes the hand that she offers him, leaning into the soft comfort of his half embrace. The ride back to the arena is spent in silence before they clamper inside the freezing building. A couple from France are on the ice already, rocking it out to some oldies music.

"Maya! Lucas!" Harper's voice greets them from across the throng of people.

After pushing though the crowd, Maya greets Riley with a grin. "Are you ready?"

"Nervous," Riley admits. "You and Harper gave us a toughie."

"And if you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world," Harper reminds her. "The reason why I skated was because I loved it. And that's why I coach."

"I do love it," Riley confirms. Farkle's silent, staring off into space, only coming into the conversation when Riley smacks his arm.

"I love it too!"

"When are you guys on?" Lucas asks.

"After the Spanish team," Harper answers, looking down at her phone. "This team," she gestures to the ice. "Are the last of group one. Riley and Farkle are the second to go in group two."

Maya gives Lucas's hand a squeeze. "Let's go find a seat."

"Sounds good," he says. "Break a leg you guys."

Riley gasps. "I hope you don't mean that literally!"

Laughing, the two of them making their way up through the bleachers and find a spot about halfway up. "Good, we can see every bit of action."

"Like that?" Lucas says, pointing to her right. Ten feet down, a couple sit in the throes of quite the Olympic make out session. "Must be the music."

"Yeah, 'Rock Around the Clock' is quite romantic," Maya rolls her eyes.

The French team finishes, placing first as expected. They sit through the Spanish team's performance of Titanic and Maya is finding herself growing hot around her neck. She pulls at her scarf, lifting her hair up so it rests on her back instead of shoulder. "Did they crank the heat or something?" she wonders, glancing to her right. "Maybe it's that couple still going at it."

Lucas doesn't answer, his eyes on the ice. Riley and Farkle have taken it now, raising up their hands in acknowledgement to the audience. "Do you think they can do it?" he says.

Maya nods, the music beginning to play. "I think they can do anything they want."

She's right. Each transition is perfect, each lift is exquisite. Her own still unnamed step sequence is included near the end of the four minutes, earning a cheer from the small audience.

They hit the last mark, ending the program. Maya and Lucas quickly get to their feet, applauding happily as their friends take a bow. Not surprisingly, the scores are high and they remain in first place through the last three couples. "Olympics and Worlds belong to them this year," Maya says, wrapping an arm around Lucas's waist once the medal ceremony is finished.

Lucas winds his arm around her shoulder in return, popping a quick kiss to her head. "Maya?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks," Lucas's eyes have a bit of that excitement back in them, the joy that she loves so much about him.

Maya nods, returning a smile. "Not a problem, Bucky McBoing Boing."

-;

That following morning Maya watches the gala practice from the stands. A choreographer had been brought in to help the skaters piece a group program together. She forgets that her phone is not shut off so the poor guy from France is startled into a fall when her phone rings shrilly. "Sorry!" she shouts, retreating to the top of the stands to take the call. "Hello?"

" _Maya, it's Shawn. I just heard from the ISU that that one of the skaters dropped out of Cup of China and they want Lucas to replace him."_

"Hey, that's good!" she muses quietly. "Maybe that can help –"

" _Get the points he needs for GPF. Can you tell him?"_

"Sure," Maya says. "Uh…"

" _What?"_

"Mr. Friar isn't going to be there, is he?"

" _I may lose my job for it, but I don't plan on telling Joe about it._ " Shawn hangs up then and Maya replaces her phone into her pocket after silencing the ring.

Lucas joins her when the skaters take a break. Riley and Farkle disappear into their own corner to cuddle and be disgustingly cute, giggling over something on Riley's phone. "What was that?"

Maya plasters on a tired smile. "That was Shawn. One of the entries dropped out of the China cup and the ISU wants you to replace him. You can get the points you need for the Final."

"Really?" Lucas stares at her before laughing. "And all my moping the other night was for nothing."

"Nah, you got some good moping practice skills there," Maya jokes. "Do you feel better?"

"I do."

She pokes his shoulder. "Maybe we can change your long. How about the Game of Thrones theme? And you can skate with a big heavy sword."

Lucas peers at her for a second before bursting out laughing.

 **-;**

 **That's all she wrote. And Lucaya is doing the slow burn. They're getting more cuddly which is a good step, right? RIGHT?!**

 **I hope you can all give me some great reviews. Thank you, loves. And don't forget to go to my polyvore to check out Riley's costumes. My polyvore name is now darcylewisy.**


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